Chaired by Rep. Brandon Creighton, the Texas Federalism & Fiscal Responsibility Committee monitors actions of the federal government, including federal legislation and regulations that direct or suggest that states take certain actions or pass legislation.

Convened in 2013 by House Speaker T.W. Shannon, the Oklahoma House of Representatives States’ Rights Committee is a nonpartisan legislative panel consisting of 13 members and chaired by Rep. Lewis Moore. The Committee’s mission is to protect Oklahoma’s state sovereignty and defend against federal encroachment into state matters as defined by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Sponsored by Reps. Gary Chism and Jeffrey Smith, HB490 would direct the state of Mississippi to establish the Joint Legislative Committee on the Neutralization of Federal Laws. The committee, to be led by the Lieutenant Governor and six members of each chamber of the state legislature, would “recommend, propose and call for a vote by simple majority to neutralize in its entirety a specific federal law or regulation that is outside the scope of the powers delegated by the people to the federal government in the United States Constitution.”

Sponsored by Rep. Ken Ivory, Sen. Niederhauser, et al., and signed into law by Gov. Herbert, HB76 authorizes Utah’s Constitutional Defense Council to evaluate and respond to federal laws. According to HB76, the Federalism Subcommittee of the Constitutional Defense Council meets to review the impact of federal mandates on Utah. As necessary, the committee requests special sessions of the Legislature to respond to harmful or unconstitutional federal mandates that encroach on state sovereignty. Responses may include challenging federal court rulings, approving claims for payments, and preparing a constitutional defense plan. The Federalism Subcommittee chair may also correspond with other states about federal law. HB76 was updated in 2013 by HB131, which established the Commission on Federalism.

Sponsored by Reps Miller, Davison, Jaggi, et al., HB85 calls for the creation of a task force to study governmental continuity in case of a disruption in federal governmental operations. The bill provides for a report and appropriations. Although similar to federalism/state sovereignty committees established in other states, the Wyoming continuity task force would focus narrowly on crisis planning and preparedness against economic or political turbulence.

Established in 2010 by Senate President Russell Pearce, and decommissioned in 2012, Arizona’s Border Security, Federalism and State Sovereignty Committee was a seven-member Senate Standing Committee that met to evaluate state-federal issues and propose 10th-Amendment-oriented legislation to protect and preserve the sovereignty of the State of Arizona.

Sponsored by Sen. Gary Nodler, SB587 calls for the creation of a state sovereignty committee in Missouri to evaluate and respond to federal laws. “This commission will refer cases to the Attorney General when the federal government takes steps that require the state or a state officer to enact or enforce a provision of federal law that lies outside Congress’s power and intrudes on the powers reserved to the states by the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The attorney general is authorized to seek appropriate relief to preserve the state’s sovereignty.”